Schaffhausen (; ; ; ; ), historically known in English as Shaffhouse, is a town with historic roots, a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in northern

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, and the capital of the canton of the same name; it has an estimated population of 36,000 It is located right next to the shore of the

High Rhine High Rhine (, ; kilometres 0 to 167 of the Rhine) is the section of the Rhine between Lake Constance () and the city of Basel, flowing in a general east-to-west direction and forming mostly the Germany–Switzerland border. It is the first of fo ...

; it is one of four Swiss towns located entirely on the northern side of the Rhine, along with , the historic , and . The old town has many fine

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

era buildings decorated with exterior

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

s and

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

, as well as the old canton fortress, the '' Munot'' above the old town. Schaffhausen railway station is a junction of Swiss and German railway lines. One of the lines connects the town with the nearby Rhine Falls in , Europe s largest waterfall and a popular

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity on ...

attraction. The official language of Schaffhausen is (the Swiss variety of Standard)

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, but the main spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic

Swiss German Swiss German (Standard German: , ,Because of the many different dialects, and because there is no #Conventions, defined orthography for any of them, many different spellings can be found. and others; ) is any of the Alemannic German, Alemannic ...

dialect.

Name

The town is first mentioned in 1045 as ''Villa Scafhusun''. There are at least two theories on the origin of this name: * One relates to a mention of a "ford" across the Rhine that first occurs in 1050. This "ford" may actually refer to a ''scapha'' or

skiff A skiff is any of a variety of essentially unrelated styles of small boats, usually propelled by sails or oars. Traditionally, these are coastal craft or river craft used for work, leisure, as a utility craft, and for fishing, and have a one-pers ...

which was used to disembark goods coming from Constance to move them around the Rhine Falls. The name ''Scafhusun'' then arose from the ''scapha'' used at that point. * Another theory is that ''Scafhusun'' comes from ''Schaf'' (a sheep), as a ram (now a sheep) formed the ancient arms (traceable to 1049) of the town, derived from those of its founders, the counts of Nellenburg.

Coat of arms

The

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

of the municipal

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

is ''Or on a Base Vert issuant from sinister a Semi Castle Argent with tower with entrance from which is issuing a Semi Ram Sable.'' The canting coat of arms refers to the second interpretation of the name, sheep-house.

History

Schaffhausen was a city state in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, documented to have struck its own coins from 1045. About 1050 the counts of Nellenburg founded the Benedictine monastery of All Saints, which became the centre of the town. Perhaps as early as 1190, certainly in 1208, it was an imperial free city, while the first seal dates from 1253. The powers of the abbot were gradually limited and in 1277 the Emperor Rudolf I gave the town a charter of liberties. In 1330 the emperor Louis of Bavaria pledged it to the

Habsburgs The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

. In the early 15th century, Habsburg power over the city waned. In 1349 and 1401 ( Schaffhausen Massacre), two pogroms occurred in the city. By 1411 the guilds ruled the city. Then, in 1415 the Habsburg Duke Frederick IV of Austria sided with the

Antipope John XXIII Baldassarre Cossa (died 22 December 1419) was Pisan antipope as John XXIII (1410–1415) during the Western Schism. The Catholic Church today regards him as an antipope in opposition to Pope Gregory XII, whom it recognizes as the rightful succ ...

at the

Council of Constance The Council of Constance (; ) was an ecumenical council of the Catholic Church that was held from 1414 to 1418 in the Bishopric of Constance (Konstanz) in present-day Germany. This was the first time that an ecumenical council was convened in ...

, and was banned by the

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it ''Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...

. As a result of the ban and Frederick's need of money, Schaffhausen was able to buy its independence from the Habsburgs in 1418. The city allied with six of the Swiss confederates in 1454 and allied with a further two (

Uri Uri may refer to: Places * Canton of Uri, a canton in Switzerland * Úri, a village and commune in Hungary * Uri, Iran, a village in East Azerbaijan Province * Uri, Jammu and Kashmir, a town in India * Uri (island), off Malakula Island in V ...

and

Unterwalden Unterwalden, translated from the Latin ''inter silvas'' ("between the forests"), is the old name of a forest-canton of the Old Swiss Confederacy in central Switzerland, south of Lake Lucerne, consisting of two valleys or '' Talschaften'', now tw ...

) in 1479. Schaffhausen became a full member of the

Old Swiss Confederacy The Old Swiss Confederacy, also known as Switzerland or the Swiss Confederacy, was a loose confederation of independent small states (, German or ), initially within the Holy Roman Empire. It is the precursor of the modern state of Switzerlan ...

in 1501. The

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

was adopted, initially, in 1524 and completely in 1529. The town was heavily damaged during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

by the passage of Swedish (Protestant) and Bavarian (Roman Catholic) troops and the very important bridge was burnt down. It was not until the early 19th century that the arrested industrial development of the town recommenced. In 1857, the first

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

, the Rheinfallbahn, running from

Winterthur Winterthur (; ) is a city in the canton of Zurich in northern Switzerland. With over 120,000 residents, it is the country's List of cities in Switzerland, sixth-largest city by population, as well as its ninth-largest agglomeration with about 14 ...

, reached Schaffhausen. Schaffhausen is located in a finger of Swiss territory surrounded on three sides by Germany. On 1 April 1944, Schaffhausen suffered a bombing raid by aircraft of the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

, which strayed from German airspace into neutral Switzerland due to navigation errors. Air raid sirens had often sounded in the past, without an actual attack, so many residents ignored the sirens that day. A total of 40 civilians were killed in the raid. President

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

sent a personal letter of apology to the mayor of Schaffhausen and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

quickly offered four million

US dollars The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

in reparations.

Geography and climate

Topography

The town of Schaffhausen stands on the right bank of the river

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

. It has an area, (as of the 2004/09 survey) of . Of this area, about 20.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while 53.4% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 24.8% is settled (buildings or roads) and 1.6% is unproductive land. Over the past two decades (1979/85-2004/09) the amount of land that is settled has increased by and the agricultural land has decreased by .Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Regional portraits
accessed 27 October 2016 In 1947 it merged with the former municipality of Buchthalen. Its area expanded again in 1964 when Herblingen was absorbed and for a third time in 2009 when Hemmental joined the municipality. Schaffhausen shares an international border with the German village of

Büsingen am Hochrhein Büsingen am Hochrhein (, ; Alemannic: ', ), often known simply as Büsingen, is a German municipality () in the south of Baden-Württemberg with a population of about 1,548 inhabitants. It is an exclave of Germany and Baden-Württemberg, and ...

, an enclave entirely surrounded by Switzerland.

Climate

Schaffhausen has an average of 122.5 days of rain or snow per year and on average receives of

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...

. The wettest month is July during which time Schaffhausen receives an average of of rain. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 11.3 days. The driest month of the year is February with an average of of precipitation over 8.4 days.

Politics

Government

The City Council (de: Stadtrat) constitutes the

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

government of the town of Schaffhausen and operates as a collegiate authority. It is composed of five councilors (), each presiding over a department (''Referat''), which each consists of several administrative districts. The president of the executive department acts as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

(''Stadtpräsident(in)''). In the mandate period January 2025 – December 2028 (''Amtsdauer'') the City Council is presided by ''Stadtpräsident'' Peter Neukomm. Departmental tasks, coordination measures and implementation of laws decreed by the Grand City Council (parliament) are carried by the City Council. The regular election of the City Council by any inhabitant valid to vote is held every four years. Any resident of Schaffhausen allowed to vote can be elected as a member of the City Council. The mayor is elected as such as well by public election while the heads of the other directorates are assigned by the collegiate. The mayor as well as the delegates are elected by means of a system of Majorz. , Schaffhausen's City Council is made up of two representative of the SP (

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

), of who one is also the mayor, one of the FDP ( The Liberals), one of the SVP (

Swiss People's Party The Swiss People's Party (, SVP; , PPS), also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre (, UDC; , UDC), is a national-conservative and right-wing populist political party in Switzerland. Chaired by Marcel Dettling, it is the largest party in ...

), one of the GLP ( Green Liberal Party), and one ''independent''. The last regular election was held on 18 August 2024. Yvonne Waldvogel is the town chronicler () since 2018.

Parliament

The Grand City Council (Grosser Stadtrat) holds

legislative power A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers o ...

. It is made up of 36 members, with elections held every four years. The Grand City Council decrees regulations and by-laws that are executed by the City Council and the administration. The delegates are selected by means of a system of Proporz. The sessions of the Grand City Council are public. Unlike members of the City Council, members of the Grand City Council are not politicians by profession, and they are paid a fee based on their attendance. Any resident of Schaffhausen allowed to vote can be elected as a member of the Grand City Council. The parliament holds its meetings in the ''Kantonsratsaal'' (Cantonal Council Hall) on ''Kornmarkt''. The last regular election of the Grand City Council was held on 24 November 2024 for the mandate period () from January 2025 to December 2028. Currently the Grand City Council consist of 10 members of the Social Democratic Party (SP/PS) and one of its junior section, the ''JUSO'', 8 of the Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC), 6 of The Liberals (FDP/PLR) and none of its junior partner, the ''JFSH'', 4 of the Green Liberal Party (GLP/PVL), 2 of the Green Party (GPS/PES)) and one of its junior partner, the ''Junge Grüne'', and one each of The Centre (former CVP/PDC), Evangelical People's Party (EVP/PES), Federal Democratic Union (EDU/UDF), and one of the ''PUSH''.

National elections

; National Council In the 2023 federal election the most popular party was the SP (35.9%, +3.8). The next five most popular parties were the SVP with 29.7% of the vote (-3.1), the FDP (12.7%, +3.1), the GLP with 7.4% (+0.8), the Greens with 6.3% (-1.7), and others (8.0%). In the federal election, a total of 14,450 votes were cast, and the

voter turnout In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This is typically either the percentage of Voter registration, registered voters, Suffrage, eligible voters, or all Voti ...

was 60.9% (+2.2). In the 2019 federal election the most popular party was the SVP with 32.8% of the vote (-6.2). The next five most popular parties were the SP (32.1%, -1.9), the FDP (9.6%, -3.1), the Greens with 8.0% (+3.7), the GLP with 6.6% (+6.6), and others (10.9%). In the federal election, a total of 13,351 votes were cast, and the

was 57.7% (-3.0). In the 2015 federal election the most popular party was the SVP with 39.0% of the vote (+7.2). The next three most popular parties were the SP (34.0%, -7.6), the FDP (12.7%, +0.6), the Greens with 4.3% (+4.3), and others (10.0%). In the federal election, a total of 13,754 votes were cast, and the

was 60.7% (+2.8).

Demographics

Population

Schaffhausen has a population () of . , 27.9% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Of the foreign population, (), 21% are from

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, 13.3% are from

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, 8.8% are from

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

, 13.3% are from

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

, 6% are from

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

, 9% are from

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, and 28.6% are from other countries.Statistical Office of the Canton of Schaffhausen
accessed 2 December 2009 Most of the population () speaks German (84.3%), with Serbo-Croatian being second most common (3.4%) and Italian being third (3.2%).
accessed 22 December 2009 Over the last four years (2010–2014) the population has changed at a rate of 2.82%. The

birth rate Birth rate, also known as natality, is the total number of live childbirth, human births per 1,000 population for a given period divided by the length of the period in years. The number of live births is normally taken from a universal registr ...

in the municipality, in 2014, was 9.6, while the

death rate Mortality rate, or death rate, is a measure of the number of deaths (in general, or due to a specific cause) in a particular population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit of time. Mortality rate is typically expressed in units of d ...

was 10.1 per thousand residents. , children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 17.8% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) are 61.7% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 20.5%. In 2015 there were 15,288 single residents, 15,287 people who were married or in a civil partnership, 2,119 widows or widowers, 3,253 divorced residents and 1 people who did not answer the question. In 2014 there were 16,723 private households in Schaffhausen with an average household size of 2.10 persons. Of the 5,863 inhabited buildings in the municipality, in 2000, about 51.5% were single family homes and 29.7% were multiple family buildings. Additionally, about 22.1% of the buildings were built before 1919, while 7.6% were built between 1991 and 2000.Swiss Federal Statistical Office STAT-TAB - Thema 09 - Bau- und Wohnungswesen
accessed 5 May 2016 In 2013 the rate of construction of new housing units per 1000 residents was 1.29. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.71%. ; Historic population The historical population is given in the following chart: Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.8) ImageSize = width:1100 height:600 PlotArea = height:350 left:100 bottom:90 right:100 Legend = columns:3 left:220 top:70 columnwidth:160 AlignBars = justify DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:38000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:6000 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:1500 start:0 Colors= id:SC value:yellowgreen legend:Schaffhausen PlotData= color:yellowgreen width:30 mark:(line,white) align:center bar:1392 from: 0 till:4000 text:"c. 4,000" color:SC bar:1520 from: 0 till:3500 text:"c. 3,500" color:SC bar:1550 from: 0 till:5300 text:"c. 5,300 " color:SC bar:1582 from: 0 till:6350 text:"c. 6,350" color:SC bar:1620 from: 0 till:5950 text:"c. 5,950" color:SC bar:1640 from: 0 till:3650 text:"c. 3,650" color:SC bar:1672 from: 0 till:5050 text:"c. 5,050" color:SC bar:1766 from: 0 till:6969 text:"6,969" color:SC bar:1798 from: 0 till:5482 text:"5,482" color:SC bar:1850 from: 0 till:8477 text:"8,477" color:SC bar:1860 from: 0 till:9386 text:"9,386" color:SC bar:1870 from: 0 till:11049 text:"11,049" color:SC bar:1880 from: 0 till:12557 text:"12,557" color:SC bar:1888 from: 0 till:13099 text:"13,099" color:SC bar:1900 from: 0 till:16320 text:"16,320" color:SC bar:1910 from: 0 till:19267 text:"19,267" color:SC bar:1920 from: 0 till:21700 text:"21,700" color:SC bar:1930 from: 0 till:23141 text:"23,141" color:SC bar:1941 from: 0 till:24984 text:"24,984" color:SC bar:1950 from: 0 till:27261 text:"27,261" color:SC bar:1960 from: 0 till:32839 text:"32,839" color:SC bar:1970 from: 0 till:37035 text:"37,035" color:SC bar:1980 from: 0 till:34250 text:"34,250" color:SC bar:1990 from: 0 till:34225 text:"34,225" color:SC bar:2000 from: 0 till:33628 text:"33,628" color:SC

Religion

, 27.4% of the population belonged to the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and 43.6% belonged to the

Swiss Reformed Church The Protestant Church in Switzerland (PCS), formerly named Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches until 31 December 2019, is a federation of 25 member churches – 24 cantonal churches and the Evangelical-Methodist Church of Switzerland. The P ...

, later organized in the parish St. Johann – Münster.

Education

In Schaffhausen about 69.8% of the population (between age 25–64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a ''

Fachhochschule A (; plural ), abbreviated FH, is a university of applied sciences (UAS), in other words a Hochschule, German tertiary education institution that provides professional education in many applied sciences and applied arts, such as engineering, te ...

'' (university of applied sciences)). In Schaffhausen, , 1.73% of the population attend

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

or another pre-school, 5.65% attend a

Primary School A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

, 2.98% attend a lower level Secondary School, and 2.49% attend a higher level Secondary School.

Economy

, there were a total of 25,749 people employed in the municipality. Of these, a total of 103 people worked in 24 businesses in the primary economic sector. A majority (61.2%) of the primary sector employees worked in very small businesses (less than ten employees). The remainder worked in 2 small businesses with a total of 40 employees. The secondary sector employed 6,403 workers in 371 separate businesses. In 2014 a total of 2,433 employees worked in 358 small companies (less than 50 employees). There were 13 mid sized businesses with 1,631 employees and 3 large businesses which employed 2,333 people (for an average size of 777.7). Finally, the

tertiary sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the ...

provided 19,243 jobs in 2,626 businesses. In 2014 the tertiary sector numbers had increased by 606 and 20 respectively. In 2014 a total of 12,890 employees worked in 2,597 small companies (less than 50 employees). There were 45 mid sized businesses with 4,938 employees and 4 large businesses which employed 2,021 people (for an average size of 505.3). In 2014 a total of 1.3% of the population received social assistance. In 2015 local hotels had a total of 102,537 overnight stays, of which 52.6% were international visitors. In 2015 there were two movie theaters in the municipality, with a total of 10 screens and a total of 1,816 available seats. , there are 102 restaurants, and 11 hotels with 445 beds. The catering industry in Schaffhausen employs 924 people. the mid year average unemployment rate was 2.5%. There were 1,879 non-agrarian businesses in the municipality and 29.9% of the (non-agrarian) population was involved in the secondary sector of the economy while 70.1% were involved in the third. At the same time, 67.1% of the working population was employed full-time, and 32.9% was employed part-time. There were 21,841 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which women made up 46.6% of the workforce. there were 10,019 residents who worked in the municipality, while 5,724 residents worked outside Schaffhausen and 8,026 people commuted into the municipality for work. Schaffhausen has an unemployment rate, , of 2.67%. , there were 196 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 33 businesses involved in this sector. 6,488 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 293 businesses in this sector. 14,019 people are employed in the

, with 1,486 businesses in this sector.

Transportation

Train

The town of Schaffhausen is served by two railway stations, Schaffhausen railway station and Herblingen railway station. Schaffhausen railway station is jointly owned by the

Swiss Federal Railways Swiss Federal Railways (, SBB; , CFF; , FFS) is the national railway company of Switzerland. The company was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Bern. It used to be a State-owned enterprise, government institution, but since 1999 it has be ...

(SBB) and

Deutsche Bahn (, ; abbreviated as DB or DB AG ) is the national railway company of Germany, and a state-owned enterprise under the control of the German government. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). DB was fou ...

(DB), and is served by trains of both nation's networks. The station is served by long-distance passenger trains (''

InterCity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the train categories in Europe, classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to InterRegio, regional train, r ...

'', ''IC'') running between

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

and

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

, ''

RegioExpress RegioExpress, commonly abbreviated to RE, is a Train categories in Europe, category of fast regional train service in Switzerland, run by Swiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FFS) or other railway companies (such as Treni Regionali Ticino Lombardia, ...

'' (''RE'') trains between Zürich HB and Schaffhausen, and '' Interregio-Express'' (''IRE'') trains between

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

and

Friedrichshafen Friedrichshafen ( or ; Low Alemannic: ''Hafe'' or ''Fridrichshafe'') is a city on the northern shoreline of Lake Constance (the ''Bodensee'') in Southern Germany, near the borders of both Switzerland and Austria. It is the district capital (''K ...

. Trains of Zürich S-Bahn services S9, S12, S24 and S33 serve the station, although only the S24 provides a direct service to Zürich Airport and Zürich main station. In addition, the S1 service of St. Gallen S-Bahn operates over the Lake Line to St. Gallen and Wil. The S64 and S65 services of Schaffhausen S-Bahn link Schaffhausen with Erzingen and Jestetten, respectively. Herblingen railway station in the north-east of Schaffhausen is served by the S24 of Zürich S-Bahn and local trains of Schaffhausen S-Bahn (S62), linking Schaffhausen station with Thayngen and Singen (Hohentwiel), respectively. The

S-Bahn The S-Bahn ( , ), , is a hybrid urban rail, urban–suburban rail system serving a metropolitan region predominantly in German language, German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit syst ...

services S1 and S62 are part of Bodensee S-Bahn, a network of regional trains around

Lake Constance Lake Constance (, ) refers to three bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein (). These ...

(''Bodensee'').

Bus

Schaffhausen and the neighboring town of Neuhausen am Rheinfall have an urban bus network of 8 lines, including the Schaffhausen trolleybus system (line 1). Since 2019, the other lines (3–9) are operated by battery-powerd buses (

Irizar Irizar Group is a Spain, Spanish-based manufacturer of luxury buses and coach (vehicle), coaches. Established in 1889, the company is located in Ormaiztegi in the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, Spain. With a commercial pres ...

) and diesel-powered buses. All routes except line 9 call at Schaffhausen railway station. Route 9 calls at Herblingen railway station. During weekends, there are night buses (designated as N#) operating after midnight. The urban bus routes, all operated by Verkehrsbetriebe Schaffhausen (vbsh), are as follows: One of the previous urban routes, line 12 to the Rhine Falls, was the first route ever to feature a level 5 autonomous bus (2018–2019). In addition, there are several regional bus services that link Schaffhausen with villages in the canton of

Schaffhausen Schaffhausen (; ; ; ; ), historically known in English as Shaffhouse, is a list of towns in Switzerland, town with historic roots, a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in northern Switzerland, and the capital of the canton of Schaffh ...

, the

canton of Zürich The canton of Zurich is an administrative unit (Swiss canton, canton) of Switzerland, situated in the northeastern part of the country. With a population of (as of ), it is the most populous canton of Switzerland. Zurich is the ''de facto'' Capi ...

and nearby German territory. The regional bus services 21–25, lines 630 and 634 and all night bus services (designated with N#) all depart from the forecourt of Schaffhausen railway station:

Boat

Departing from Schifflände, there are regular boat trips on the river

(

) to

Stein am Rhein Stein am Rhein (abbreviated as Stein a. R.) is a historic town and a municipality in the canton of Schaffhausen in Switzerland. It is located at the outfall of Lower Lake Constance on the High Rhine river, about halfway between the town of Scha ...

and Kreuzlingen (

) offered by '' Schweizerische Schifffahrtsgesellschaft Untersee und Rhein'' (''URh'') during warmer seasons.

Private Transport

The A4 motorway connects Schaffhausen with

. The A4 continues northward to Donaueschingen/ Singen (Hohentwiel) in

. Since 1996, the A4 runs through a tunnel, bypassing the town's center. There are three nearby exits along the A4: ''Schaffhausen Süd'', ''Schaffhausen Nord'' and ''Schaffhausen Schweizersbild''. The '' Hauptstrasse 13'' connects Schaffhausen with villages in the western part of the canton (Klettgau), through the Galgenbucktunnel which opened in 2019, and with villages along the Rhine east of Schaffhausen.

Culture

; Heritage sites of national significance There are 35 buildings or sites in Schaffhausen that are listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance. This includes the entire old town of Schaffhausen, the city walls, the Giesserei +GF+ Werk I factory, the town and cantonal archives, the ''Schweizersbild''

Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...

cave and the ''Herblingen'' and ''Grüthalde''

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

settlements. Additionally, there are four former

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular territory. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradespeople belonging to a professional association. They so ...

houses and seven listed houses. There are only two listed religious buildings, the former Benedictine All Saints Abbey and the Church of St. John. File:Schaffhausen - Kloster Allerheiligen IMG 2705.JPG , All Saints Abbey () as seen from Munot File:Schaffhausen - Kloster Allerheiligen IMG 2690.jpg , Church portal of Münster Schaffhausen File:Schaffhausen Münster Hauptschiff 1.jpg, Cathedral interior of Münster Schaffhausen File:Schaffhausen IMG 2689.jpg , Restaurant Thiergarten and Munot tower File:Schaffhausen IMG 2702.jpg , ''

Altstadt ''Altstadt'' () is the German language word for "old town", and generally refers to the historical town or city centre within the old town or city wall, in contrast to younger suburbs outside. '' Neustadt'' (new town), the logical opposite of ...

'' File:Schaffhausen IMG 2721.JPG , Münster Schaffhausen File:Zum Ritter Schaffhausen.jpg, House ''zum Ritter'' at Vordergasse 65, one of the listed houses File:Schaffhausen 1.JPG, View of the ''Altstadt'' with the Münster File:Schaffhausen, de Obertorturm IMG 4642 2023-04-28 19.44.jpg, Towngate: Obertorturm

Economy

Schaffhausen hosts some well-known industrial companies like Georg Fischer (piping systems, machine tools and automotives), internationally reputed

manufacturer Manufacturing is the creation or Production (economics), production of goods with the help of equipment, Work (human activity), labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary se ...

s of

watch A watch is a timepiece carried or worn by a person. It is designed to maintain a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is worn around the wrist, attached by a watch strap or another type of ...

es ( IWC and H. Moser & Cie), pharmaceutical industry (

Cilag Cilag AG is a Swiss pharmaceutical company. Cilag is a subsidiary of American pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson. The company is part of Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine business segment. Company history In 1933, Swiss chemist Bernhar ...

, founded by Bernhard Joos) and BB Biotech (biotechnologies).

Tyco International Tyco International was a security systems company incorporated in the Republic of Ireland, with operational headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey, United States (Tyco International (US) Inc.). Tyco International was composed of two major busin ...

Garmin Garmin Ltd. is an American multinational technology company based in Olathe, Kansas. The company designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes GPS-enabled products and other navigation, communication, sensor-based, and information ...

, Aptiv (purely for tax purposes), and cyber protection company

Acronis Acronis International GmbH, simply referred to as Acronis, is a Swiss cybersecurity and data protection technology company with its corporate headquarters in Schaffhausen, Switzerland and global headquarters in Singapore. Acronis develops on-premi ...

are also incorporated in Schaffhausen.

Sport

The town has two football teams, SV Schaffhausen, of the fourth-tier Swiss 1. Liga, and FC Schaffhausen, of the second-tier

Swiss Challenge League The Challenge League (known as the Dieci Challenge League for sponsorship reasons) is the second-highest tier of the Swiss football league system and lower of two professional leagues in the country. Ten teams play in the Challenge League; the wi ...

. There is a football stadium in Breite, Schaffhausen which seats 4200 persons, known as the Breitestadion. It is also the training headquarters for local children's football teams. There is a

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

team in Schaffhausen which plays in the first Swiss division: Kadetten Schaffhausen. They are centered at the BBC Arena on Schweizersbildstrasse. It seats 3600 persons, and was built in 2011. Kadetten has been very successful and has won the second most titles in the history of the SHL.

Notable people

Pre-17th century

* Bernold of Constance (c.1054 – 1100 in Schaffhausen), chronicler and writer of religious tracts * Johann Geiler von Kaisersberg (1445–1510), priest, a popular preacher of the 15th-century * Sebastian Hofmeister (1476–1533), known in writing as Oeconomus or Oikonomos, was a Swiss monk and religious Reformer *

Tobias Stimmer Tobias Stimmer (7 April 1539 – 4 January 1584In the old style.) was a Switzerland, Swiss painter and illustrator. His most famous work is the paintings on the Strasbourg astronomical clock. Biography He was born in Schaffhausen, and was a ...

(1539–1584), painter and illustrator, particularly of the

Strasbourg astronomical clock The Strasbourg astronomical clock is located in the Strasbourg Cathedral, Cathédrale Notre-Dame of Strasbourg, Alsace, France. It is the third clock on that spot and dates from the time of the first French possession of the city (1681–1870). ...

* Daniel Lindtmayer (1552-c.1605), the fourth generation of artists and glass painters

17th century

Johann Jakob Wepfer Johann Jakob Wepfer (December 23, 1620 – January 26, 1695) was a Swiss pathologist and pharmacologist who was a native of Schaffhausen. He studied medicine in Strasbourg, Basel and Padua, and in 1647 returned to Schaffhausen to practice med ...

(1620–1695), pathologist and pharmacologist * Johann Conrad Peyer (1653–1712), anatomist * Johann Konrad Ammann (1669–1724), physician and instructor of non-verbal deaf persons * Andrew Schalch (1692–1776), the first gun-founder at the

Royal Arsenal The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich is an establishment on the south bank of the River Thames in Woolwich in south-east London, England, that was used for the manufacture of armaments and ammunition, proof test, proofing, and explosives research for ...

in Woolwich

18th century

George Michael Moser George Michael Moser (17 January 1706 – 24 January 1783) was an artist and enameller of the 18th century, father of floral painter Mary Moser, and, with his daughter, among the founder members of the Royal Academy in 1768. Biography He ...

RA (1706–1783), chaser and enameller, co-founder of the Royal Academy in 1768 * Johann Amman (1707–1741), Swiss-Russian botanist, a member of the Royal Society and professor of botany * John Snetzler (1710–1785), organ builder who worked mostly in England * Lorenz Spengler (1720–1807), Danish turner and naturalist. * Johann Jakob Schalch (1723–1789), painter, noted for his paintings of the Rheinfall in Schaffhausen * Johann Conrad Ammann (1724–1811), physician, naturalist and collector of fossils * Johannes von Müller (1752–1809), historian * Johann Conrad Fischer (1773–1854), metallurgist, inventor, and pioneer in the steel industry; founded Georg Fischer AG in 1802 * Friedrich Emmanuel von Hurter (1787–1865), Protestant cleric and historian who converted to Roman Catholicism * Caroline Mezger (1787–1843) painter, printmaker, and art teacher

19th century

* Johann Heinrich Gelzer (1813–1889), historian and diplomat * Hans Bendel (1814–1853), painter and illustrator *

Ferdinand Hurter Ferdinand Hurter (15 March 1844 – 12 March 1898) was a Swiss industrial chemist who settled in England. He also carried out research into photography. Early life Ferdinand Hurter was born in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, the only son of Tobi ...

(1844–1898), industrial chemist who settled in England, researched photography * Dame Sophia Wintz DBE (1847–1929), British philanthropist who co-founded the Royal Sailors' Rests * Ernst Homberger (1869–1955), industrialist, Georg Fischer and International Watch Company * Emil Ermatinger (1873–1953), professor for Germanic philology * Ferdinand Schalch (1848–1918), paleontologist and geologist * Hermann Rorschach (1884–1922), psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, brought up in Schaffhausen *

Bernhard Peyer Bernhard Peyer (25 July 1885 – 23 February 1963) was a Swiss paleontologist and anatomist who served as a professor at the University of Zurich. A major contribution was on the evolution of vertebrate teeth. Peyer was born in Schaffhausen, Swit ...

(1885–1963), paleontologist and anatomist * Karl Jäger (1888–1959), mid-ranking official in the SS of Nazi Germany, perpetrated acts of genocide during

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

* Walther Bringolf (1895–1981), mayor of Schaffhausen 1933–1968, former president of the National Council of Switzerland 1961/1962

20th century

* Richard Meili (1900–1991), scientist in practical psychology, diagnostics, personality development and intelligence * Conrad Beck (1901–1989), composer and head of Music of Radio Basel 1933–1963 * Carl Alfred Meier (1905–1995), psychiatrist, Jungian psychologist, scholar, and first president of the C. G. Jung Institute in Zürich * Cardinal Gilberto Agustoni (1922–2017),

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

of the Roman Catholic Church * Ernst Hess (1912–1968), conductor, composer and musicologist * Rita Wolfensberger (1928–2020), classical pianist * Bruno Meyer (born 1938), religious leader of a fundamentalist Christian congregation; convicted in 2010 for rape and child sexual abuse * Markus Werner (1944–2016), writer, author of the novels '' Zündels Abgang'' *

Christoph Blocher Christoph Wolfram Blocher (; born 11 October 1940) is a Swiss industrialist and politician who served as a List of members of the Swiss Federal Council, Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2004 to 2007. A member of the Swiss People's Party ( ...

(born 1940), politician, industrialist and former member of the Swiss Federal Council * Pia Gyger (1940–2014), specialist for special education and psychologist a co-initiator of the Jerusalem-Project *

Irène Schweizer Irène Schweizer (2 June 1941 – 16 July 2024) was a Swiss jazz and free improvising pianist. Life and career Schweizer was born in Schaffhausen, Switzerland on 2 June 1941. She performed and recorded numerous solo piano performances as well as ...

(1941-2024), jazz and free improvising pianist IMDb Database
retrieved 21 November 2018 *

Jürg Fröhlich Jürg Martin Fröhlich (born 4 July 1946 in Schaffhausen) is a Swiss mathematician and theoretical physicist. He is best known for introducing rigorous techniques for the analysis of statistical mechanics models, in particular continuous symmetr ...

(born 1946), mathematician and theoretical physicist * Giorgio Behr (born 1948), businessman, lawyer, accountant and university professor *

Beat Furrer Beat Furrer (born 6 December 1954) is a Swiss-born Austrian composer and conductor. He has served as professor of composition at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz since 1991. He was awarded the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize in 2018 ...

(born 1954), Austrian composer and conductor * Philipp Landmark (born 1966), journalist and former editor-in-chief of the '' St. Galler Tagblatt'' * Tom Strala (born 1974), designer, architect and artist

Sport

* Jules Ehrat (1905–1997), chess player, the 1942 joint Swiss Chess Champion * Liselotte Kobi (born 1930), former swimmer, competed at the

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

and

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

* Marianne Gossweiler (born 1943), equestrian, medallist in team dressage at both the

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

and

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

* Stefan Maurer (1960–1994), cyclist, competed in the individual road race at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

* Stephan Lehmann (1963), retired football goalkeeper, goalkeeper coach for

FC Sion Football Club Sion, commonly known as simply FC Sion or Sion, is a Swiss Association football, football club from the city of Sion, Switzerland, Sion. The club was founded in 1909 and play their home matches at the Stade Tourbillon. They have wo ...

, 538 team games and 14 for the national side * Roberto Di Matteo (born 1970), Italian former footballer (323 games) and team manager in the UK * Daniela Baumer (born 1971), sprint canoer, silver medallist at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

* Florence Schelling (born 1989), ice hockey goaltender and three-time Olympian; first woman to be named general manager of a professional men's hockey team (

SC Bern Schlittschuh Club Bern ('' Ice-skating Club Bern'' in English) is a professional ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rin ...

) in the world

References

External links

* *
Tourism informationTown archives

Rhine Fall
*
Digitized Edition of ''Chronik der Stadt und Landschaft Schaffhausen''
in German, 1884–1910, at E-rara
Digitized Edition of ''Wappenbuch der Stadt Schaffhausen''
in German, Schaffhausen 1819, at E-rara. {{Authority control Cantonal capitals of Switzerland Cities in Switzerland Populated places on the Rhine Municipalities of the canton of Schaffhausen 1330 disestablishments Populated places disestablished in the 14th century States and territories established in 1415 Cultural property of national significance in the canton of Schaffhausen 16th-century establishments in the Old Swiss Confederacy 1501 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire

Name

Coat of arms

History

Geography and climate

Topography

Climate

Politics

Government

Parliament

National elections

Demographics

Population

Religion

Education

Economy

Transportation

Train

Bus

Boat

Private Transport

Culture

Economy

Sport

Notable people

Pre-17th century

17th century

18th century

19th century

20th century

Sport

See also

References

External links